When inspecting the interior of engine cylinders at automotive equipping plants, repair shops, etc., a borescope is commonly inserted through a spark plug hole and used to inspect the interior of a cylinder without going through all the trouble of removing the engine's cylinder head(s). Borescopes are also used in the aviation industry, in marinas and shipyards, and in many other facilities in which various mechanical machines and devices are fabricated, assembled and/or repaired. Similar optical scopes are used to inspect the interior of scuba and gas storage tanks. Other fields in which borescopes or similar optical scopes are used include plumbing, mining, rescue, monitoring, and police investigations, to name only a few.
Borescopes and similar optical scopes commonly use cables that are formed from coherent bundles of optical fibers. Coherent bundles mean that the spatial relationship of individual each fiber to all the other fibers has to be maintained at each end of the cable. Since each fiber is essentially a “pixel,” it is necessary to maintain the spatial relationship of the fibers. This requirement contributes to the high cost of borescopes and similar optical scopes that use optical fiber cables.
In borescopes and similar optical scopes a lens is provided at the front end of the fiber bundles which focuses an image of what is being observed onto the polished ends of the fibers in the fiber bundle. A view lens is provided at the opposite end of the fiber bundle which transfers the relatively course image produced at the front end of the device to an observer using the device.
When using borescopes and similar optical scopes objects in dark areas illumination is commonly provided by means of a strong and relatively expensive halogen light source projected down the cable from the observation end. The light source used for illumination has to be strong due to the fact the light has to be transmitted from one end of the cable to the other and onto an objected to be imaged and then the image has to be transmitted back through the cable to be observed.
The present invention provides optical devices for observing, manipulating and retrieving objects in remote sites and locations, which optical devices include a variety of attachments and configurations.